Previous Year Question
Which bank became the first bank to open its branch in China?
IDBI Bank
HDFC Bank
State Bank of India
Punjab National Bank
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The State Bank of India became the first Indian bank to start full-fledged banking operations in China.
SBI had established a Representative Office in Shanghai in 1997. It was subsequently upgraded into a full-fledged branch, and the SBI Shanghai Branch commenced commercial banking operations in 2006.
An important distinction is between a Representative Office and a Bank Branch. A representative office primarily performs liaison, market information and business-facilitation functions and normally does not undertake full banking operations. A licensed branch, on the other hand, can provide permitted banking services such as deposits, loans and trade finance.
Therefore, although some other Indian banks had representative offices in China, SBI was the first to operate there as a commercial banking branch.